Net, In Particular for a Basket for Pisciculture and a Method and Device for Production Thereof

ABSTRACT

A net ( 11 ) is particularly suitable for a basket for pisciculture, which may be placed in sea or fresh water ( 16 ). The net ( 11 ) is made of a wire material ( 1 ), producible from individual spiral or similarly bent longitudinal elements, wherein adjacent threads ( 2, 3, 4, 5 ) are woven together. Said net is simple and economical to produce.

The invention relates to a net, in particular for a basket for pisciculture, which may be placed in sea or fresh water, and a method and device for production thereof.

It is known to use baskets made from nets for pisciculture (see for example JP 2002 045084 or WO 96 13973). The net made of plastic is generally knotted at the cross-over points, generally has a rope diameter of approx. 2-8 mm, and must have relatively small mesh openings of approx. 10-30 mm. Due to the correspondingly large “material surface” there is a risk that animals and plants such as e.g. algae, seaweed, moss, mussels, etc. will become caught, held or will accumulate in these meshes, and this will have a negative impact upon the penetrability of the net, and so upon the pisciculture since the inflow of nutrients and the supply of oxygen thus takes place unsatisfactorily.

EP-B-0 979 329 discloses a high-strength wire netting for protection against is falling rocks or for securing a surface layer of earth which is woven from high-strength steel wires bent in spiral coils and has a three-dimensional structure. The wires bent in spirals have a gradient angle and a length between two bends which determine the shape and size of the meshes of the wire netting.

The wire material is produced by a method in which the wire is fed to a mandrel at the defined gradient angle and is bent in the defined length around the mandrel by for example over approx. 180°, the wire having to be fed a number of times in its longitudinal axis to the mandrel about the defined length and having to be bent respectively around the mandrel. The method and the device required for this purpose is relatively complicated and correspondingly expensive.

The object underlying the present invention is to provide a net of the type specified at the start and to propose a method for inexpensive production of the latter with which the risk of contamination and clogging of the net can be reduced.

This object is achieved according to the invention by a net having the features of claim 1 and by a method according to claim 9.

Preferred further configurations of the net according to the invention and of the method according to the invention, including for other applications such as, for example, in architecture, form the subject matter of the dependent claims.

The net according to the invention made of a wire material which can be produced from individual spirally bent metal longitudinal elements to form a cylindrical spatial spiral and wherein the adjacent spirals are woven together, is simple and is economical to produce. The longitudinal elements provided in particular as wires are continuously bent to form the cylindrical spatial spirals. Advantageously a number of wires or spirals can be produced and woven together at the same time.

The wire material preferably made of stainless or corrosion-resistant steel is substantially less prone to contamination, clogging and the accumulation of animals and/or plants such as algae, seaweed, moss, mussel types etc. than conventional plastic nets or nets made of different materials which are not correspondingly coated.

In this regard the use of wires made of copper-coated steel can also be particularly advantageous for the wire material. Different copper alloys and cladding coatings containing copper are also suitable instead of the copper coating. Special repellent plastic coatings are also suitable for preventing this clogging and plant cover.

This type of net can also absorb dynamic forces and kinetic energies, and so it can also be used for retarding processes in the field of natural dangers, in safety technology, for shatter protection and for further protective applications and protection devices.

Due to corresponding weight reduction the preferred use of high-strength wires with nominal strengths of approx. 1000 N/mm²-2800 N/mm² enables significant application advantages and material and cost savings, for example larger baskets, and due to the smaller “material surface” less adhesive surface for water animals and water plants, such as for example algae, seaweed, moss, mussels etc.

In the following the invention will be described in greater detail by means of the drawings. These show as follows:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a basket placed in water with a net according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a top view of a part of a net according to the invention,

FIG. 3 is a side view of the part of the net according to FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a side view of the part of the net according to FIG. 2 wherein the wire material is pressed flat, and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a section of a device for compressing spirally bent wires.

FIG. 1 shows a diagrammatically illustrated basket 10 which is placed in water 16 here and is particularly intended for pisciculture. The basket 10 is formed from a net 11 and is preferably fixed to the sea bed 15 by attachment means 12, 13, and said basket extends upwards to the surface of the water. Depending on the depth of the water, currents, the tidal range and soil characteristics there are also floating versions with different types of attachment to the ground or the land and respective combinations of the latter.

This basket 10 is rectangular in form here, but it can of course also be of a different shape. The basket can be formed in different shapes here, for example it can be round or square or polygonal. For certain applications it is likewise advantageous if the basket can also be closed at the bottom and/or at the top. Depending on the incubation phase smaller baskets can also be placed inside larger baskets, it being possible to provide different mesh sizes.

In FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 a part of the net 11 intended for the basket 10 is illustrated.

According to the invention the net is in the form of a mesh 1 which is made up of individual spirally bent metal wires 2, 3, 4, 5 as longitudinal elements. According to the invention the wires 2, 3, 4, 5 cut to a specific length are continuously bent into the shape of cylinders (see in particular FIG. 3), the adjacent wires 2, 3; 3, 4; 4, 5; etc. being woven together. Advantageously a number of wires can be bent at the same time and then be woven together.

According to FIG. 2 the wires 2, 3, 4, 5 are connected to one another flexibly in pairs at their ends, for which purpose the ends of the interwoven wires or spirals are is bent are knotted to form loops 2′, 3′, 4′, 5′. The knotted ends in particular enable economical force-fit connection to adjacent nets. Different types of end loop connections of the wire ends of the individual spirals (e.g. with press connections) can also be used instead of the knots.

The flexible connection of individual wires 2, 3, 4, 5 makes it possible to roll or fold up the wire material 1 for storage and transportation.

The wires 2, 3, 4, 5 are preferably made of stainless steel (for example inox) or of corrosion-resistant steel with which the corrosion resistance is achieved by means of a suitable coating, such as for example zinc/aluminum or copper alloys or by means of a covering (for example plastic or cladding coatings). Combinations of different coating methods are also possible. The net according to the invention made of wire material is therefore substantially less prone to contamination with, the accumulation of and clogging with aquatic animals and plants such as for example algae, seaweed, moss, mussels etc. than conventional nets made of plastic. In this regard the use of wires made of copper-coated steel for the wire material 1 is particularly advantageous.

Instead of the simple wire, ropes, cords or similar materials can also be used to produce the net. When using ropes and cords it is not necessary for all of the strands of the rope or cord structure to be made of high-strength wires with nominal strengths of 1000 N/mm² to approx. 2800 N/mm².

With the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 the thickness of the wire material 1 is defined by the diameter of the cylinder shape. The net 11 allows relatively large elongations and widenings. The production output when producing the net is high particularly due to the continuous wire feed. Moreover, a number of spirals can be produced and interwoven at the same time, and this reduces production times by a multiple, and thus greatly reduces production costs.

With a further possible embodiment of the net according to the invention according to FIG. 4 the wire material 20 woven from the wires 22, 23, 24, 25 bent into the cylindrical spatial spirals are then further processed, for example pressed flat. With this net which is less thick, flatter, but still three-dimensional in comparison to the embodiment according to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 less wire is required for the same area. However, the net then allows less elongation and widening, which can be essentially mechanically or visually advantageous, however, depending on the type of application.

Since the bent spirals spring back easily after being pressed flat, this process must be implemented in stages over the whole area of the net. With regard to the space required for bending back the possibility of producing a number of spirals at the same time is limited.

According to FIG. 5 a perspective view of a section of a bending device 50 for pressing flat a spirally bent wire 2 is provided. A partial device for producing the spirally bent wires is not shown in any greater detail. The spirally bent wire 2 is pre-produced here in an approximately cylindrical form.

The bending device 50 has stamps 52, 54 arranged in two rows which can be moved in relation to one another laterally to the longitudinal extension of the spiral wire 2 and are provided respectively on the front face side with a guiding groove 52′, 54′ centering the wire 2. These stamps 52, 54 which can be pushed to and fro by a controllable drive are aligned in relation to one another in two rows and are arranged a distance apart from one another according to the gradient height h of the individual spirals of the wire 2 so that they encompass to the side the spiral wire 2 provided with a specific length with each spiral. In the gripping position illustrated the stamps of the one row are spaced apart from the other one such that the spiral wire 2 can be turned into these guiding grooves 52′, 54′ of the stamps 52, 54. As the wire 2 is turned in threading into the already compressed wire 3 advantageously takes place at the same time, by means of which the net is produced in this way. In principle the stamps could however then be pushed even further apart from one another, and the pre-formed wire 2 could than be inserted. Starting from this gripping position at least the stamps 52 or 54 of the is one row are then moved in relation to the other stamps 54 or 52 by a specific distance and here the spiral wire is compressed so that with the individual spirals almost straight wire sections 3′ are respectively produced, and that the net composed from the latter has a mattress-like structure.

There are provided above and below these stamps 52, 54 additional bending tools 55, 56 which can also be moved laterally to the longitudinal extension of the spiral strands 2, 3 which are arranged such that they produce bending back of the spiral wires 3 with the bends 3″ formed after the compression of the spiral wires 3. An optimal form of these wires 2, 3 is thus produced. The bending tools 55, 56 serve, moreover, as a support for the spiral wire 2 so that the latter can not be pressed away upwards or downwards during the compression.

With this bending device 50 rational production allowing different sizes of spiral wires is guaranteed within the framework of the invention.

The net according to the invention in the form of a wire material and which is produced from individual spiral (or in a shape similar to a spiral) metal wires bent to form a cylindrical (or in a shape similar to a cylinder) spatial spiral, and with which the adjacent wires or spirals are interwoven, is simple and economical to produce. The wires are continuously bent into the cylindrical spatial spirals. Advantageously a number of wires or spirals can be produced and be interwoven at the same time.

With at least some of the interwoven wires a substantially straight longitudinal reinforcement element can be guided through the linkage region of the two spiral interwoven wires by means of which the meshes formed in diamond shapes are divided into triangular meshes.

Instead of wires, other longitudinal elements such as for example ropes or cords or a combination of the latter, or also strips, pipes, metal sheets etc. can also be used. 

1. A net, in particular for a basket for pisciculture, which may be placed in sea or fresh water, characterised in that the net is made of a mesh (1) which can be produced from individual spirally or similarly bent longitudinal elements, the adjacent longitudinal elements, such as wires (2, 3; 3, 4; 4, 5) respectively being interwoven.
 2. The net according to claim 1, characterised in that the longitudinal elements are made of the metal wires (2, 3, 4, 5) and/or of ropes and/or cords which are made of corrosion-resistant, stainless or corrosion protection-coated steel.
 3. The net according to claim 2, characterised in that the wires (2, 3, 4, 5) are made of steel which is coated with copper or copper alloys.
 4. The net according to claim 1, characterised in that the wire material (1) which is initially produced in a spiral or similar form can be compressed to form a flatter, yet still three-dimensional wire material.
 5. The net according to claim 1 4, characterised in that the wires (2, 3, 4, 5) are connected to one another flexibly in pairs at their ends, for which purpose the ends of the interwoven wires are knotted to form loops (2′, 3′, 4′, 5′).
 6. The net according to claim 1, characterised in that the wires (2, 3, 4, 5) and/or the ropes and/or the cords are made of high-strength steel, in particular with a nominal strength of 1000 N/mm² to 2800 N/mm²
 7. The net according to claim 1, characterised in that with at least some of the interwoven longitudinal elements a substantially straight longitudinal reinforcement element is guided through the linkage region of the two spiral interwoven longitudinal elements by means of which the meshes formed in diamond shapes are divided into triangular or triangle-like meshes.
 8. The net according to claim 1, characterised in that the net can be used in the field of protection and safety, for example for retarding processes in the field of natural dangers, as a cover in safety technology, for shatter protection and/or similar, or in architecture.
 9. A method for producing a net according to claim 1, characterised in that individual longitudinal elements are continuously bent to form a cylinder shape or similar, the adjacent longitudinal elements such as wires (2, 3; 3, 4; 4, 5) being interwoven.
 10. The method according to claim 9, characterised in that a number of screw-shaped spirals are produced from the longitudinal elements and are interwoven at the same time.
 11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterised in that the spiral wires cut to a specific length are bent or knotted to form loops (2′, 3′, 4′, 5′) with their ends of the interwoven wires (2, 3; 3, 4; 4, 5) in order to connect the wires to one another flexibly in pairs.
 12. The method according to claim 9, characterised in that the wire material (1) woven from the wires (2, 3, 4, 5) bent into the cylindrical spatial spirals is pressed flat.
 13. A device for implementing the method according to claim 9, characterised in that a partial device for producing spirally bent wires (2, 3) and a separate bending device (50) for pressing the spirally bent wires (2, 3) flat are provided.
 14. The device according to claim 13, characterised in that the bending device (50) compresses the spirally bent wires (2, 3) such that with the individual spirals almost straight wire sections (3′) are respectively produced, and that the net composed from the latter has a mattress-like structure.
 15. The device according to claim 13, characterised in that the bending device (50) has stamps (52, 54) arranged in rows which can be moved in relation to one another laterally to the longitudinal extension of the spiral wires (2, 3) and are provided respectively on the front face side with a guiding groove (52′, 54′) centering the wire, the stamps (52, 54) being arranged a distance apart from one another according to the gradient height (h) of the individual spirals, and lifted a predetermined amount from a gripping position, in which a spiral wire can be turned or inserted into these guiding grooves of the stamps, into a bending position in which the spiral wire (2, 3) is compressed.
 16. The device according to claim 13, characterised in that additional bending tools (55, 56) are provided which can also be moved laterally to the longitudinal extension of the spiral wires (2, 3) which are arranged such that when moved they produce bending back of the spiral wires with the bends (3″) formed after the compression of the spiral wires. 